MOUTH-BLOWN GLASS BOTTLE

Tender’s bottles are mouth-blown and hand shaped in England from lead-free glass. They are stopped with a natural cork bung, and may be used to serve spirits, oil, vinegar, or to hold wild flowers.

Rather than being cast or mechanically mould blown, as most glassware is today, this bottle is free-blown in the manner that glass has been worked since the First Century BC. During the blowing process, the rod on which the tumbler is made leaves a ‘belly button’ or punty mark on the base. The punty mark is sometimes ground away, to leave a perfectly smooth bottom, but to show its construction story, Tender’s glass wares have the punty mark still showing.

The final stage of production is to press one of Tender’s lost wax-cast solid brass jeans buttons, showing Plautus’ face, into the soft glass base. Then the bottles must be carefully placed in an annealing oven, which cools them down very slowly, over twenty-four hours, so that the glass does not crack.

These bottles are free blown and so vary slightly from piece to piece, however they all measure approximately 5″ (18cm) tall. Mouth-blown glass should be washed by hand, and is not suitable for microwaves, ovens, or dishwashers.